Share Post Viber icon Viber Email

Senior couples may be in the winter of their lives, but the heat of the summer could still be lingering inside them, many thinking intimacy is no longer possible. Medical facts of today will hopefully change their archaic mindset. Scientifically speaking, relatively healthy seniors (in spite of their high blood, pressure, diabetes, etc.) could still enjoy a satisfying active sex life, albeit not a s often. It is a matter of mindset, not age, according to a special health report from Harvard Medical School. To forgo the intimacy in the winter of your journey, especially today, when various aids are available, is to miss the wonderful summer warmth of love and life itself.

Energy drink and cancer

The popularity of energy drinks, especially among young people, is quite alarming. Deaths have been reported following consumption of energy drinks, which contains high dose of caffeine and taurine, an amino acid which researchers has now linked to leukemia, a form of cancer that affects the blood, according to the University of Rochester Medical Center. The report by The Hill says “research has indicated that taurine, a common ingredient in energy drinks, like Red Bull, can have both beneficial and detrimental effects in the context of cancer. While taurine can enhance the survival and function of immune cells like CD8 T cells, it can also fuel cancer cell growth and promote tumor progression. This dual role is largely dependent on the cancer type, the specific cellular context, and the levels of taurine available.”

Cardiologist suicide

Suicide among cardiologists in the United States is alarming. One in 6 cardiologists had suicidal ideation, the highest rate (17 percent) among all specialties, among ages 65-69. Among cardiologists, 14 percent had suicidal thoughts and 2 percent had attempted to kill themselves. Sixty two percent of them were males and 36 percent females. Factors cited were stress from medical practice and corporate employer pressure to produce more profits by seeing more patients, in an understaffed situation, basically over worked, fatigue, and burnt-out. Physicians are basically “ordered” to see more patients daily, beyond what is good care. Today’s corporate practice of medicine is mainly focused on financial profits and sacrifices quality of care.

Marijuana Warning

A study on the devastating effect of cannabis (marijuana) use on the cardiovascular system and the mechanism involved reveals “associations with oxidative stress, tissue injury, cell death. It’s also proatherogenic (induces hardening of the arteries), profibrotic (scar-forming), and pro-inflammatory. And it results in this vasodilation/vasoconstriction in the sympathetic nervous system that could also put additional stress on the cardiovascular system.”

It is mind-boggling why our legislators would even approve recreational marijuana. While its medical use is scientifically justified, adding cannabis to the damaging substances we already have (tobacco, alcohol, etc.) for recreational purposes is insanity. The only thing this “recreates” are addiction, illnesses, misery, and death, especially for our youth.

TAVR: Lifesaver

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) or Implantation (TAVI), conceptualized by HR Anderson (Danish) in the 1980s, was first performed on human patients by French cardiologist Alain Cribier, MD, FACC, in Rouen, France on April 16, 2002. I have given lectures on TAVR in Manila, Cebu, and in various cities in the United States. I entitled my talk “TAVR: Hope for the Otherwise Hopeless.” Patients with severe heart valve disease, heart failure, and other co-morbidities are usually rejected because of a very high unacceptable mortality rate. This unfortunate

situation was like a death sentence because they won’t last 3-6 months without effective treatment.

With TAVR, which is a minimally invasive procedure using a percutaneous – skin puncture in the groin (femoral) artery – to insert a catheter to replace the diseased valve, instead of a major chest-cracking surgery, the patients are able to tolerate the procedure better and are discharged in a day or two. TAVR or TAVI are indeed a lifesaver. The procedure is now extended to other diseased heart valves and rapidly being used to replace heart valve surgery in many cases around the world. The report from the recent DapaTAVI trial presented in Chicago revealed that “ for older

patients at high risk for a heart failure event who are scheduled for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), dapagliflozin, a sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, reduces the risk for death and heart failure events by almost 30%.” An added boon for TAVR.

Flavan-3-ols and BP

High blood pressure, a deadly contributing factor, kills at least 43,000 people in the United States every year. It is also a major risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease. A new meta-study, which includes 145 randomized controlled researches, suggests that the “flavan-3-ols, which are a type of plant-derived compound found in cocoa, dark chocolates, tea, apples, and grapes, may be useful in managing high blood pressure.”– European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Exercise and Alzheimer’s

There are an estimated 7.2 million Americans who have Alzheimer’s and about 55 million people around the world. Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer. Exercise helps prevents dementia, including Alzheimer’s. Studies now reveals how it helps: regular “exercise transforms two critical cell types in the brain, microglia and neurovascular astrocytes (NVA), cells that help maintain the brains blood supply and form part of the protective blood-brain barrier.” Exercise reduces the risk for the development of diseases, including metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, and even cancer.

* * *

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.

* * *

Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, medical missionary, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He is a decorated recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995, presented by then Indiana Governor, US senator, and later a presidential candidate, Evan Bayh. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry S. Truman,

President George HW Bush, Astronaut Gus Grissom, pugilist Muhammad Ali, David Letterman, distinguished educators, scientists, etc. (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com